The Things You Hide
by DarkLight62
Summary: After being kicked out of college, Keith goes back to his old town trying to change his image: But he notices Lance isn't quite himself. Slowly with Pidge's help, he tries to uncover what happened while he was gone... Only to discover that Lance is more broken than he originally thought. Slow burn romance with some major Klangst.
1. Chapter 1

WARNING! RATED T FOR VIOLENCE, SELF HARM, AND MENTIONS OF SOME GOD AWFUL STUFF, ALL IN LATER CHAPTERS

IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THESE TOPICS, THIS IS NOT A FANFICTION FOR YOU.

I DO NOT OWN VOLTRON: LEGENDARY DEFENDERS

Chapter One

 _In a small apartment lay a broken, bloody, cuban boy. Amidst the shards of glass and broken furniture, he cried._

Keith was not looking forward to seeing his brother and his brother's fiance. After all, Keith did just lose his scholarship and get kicked out of college for behavior issues. And he knew as soon as Shiro pulled up to his dorm entrance, that he was in for it.

"Honestly Keith, _what were you thinking?_ So close to finishing your first year also." Shiro gave him a disapproving glare before helping him transfer Keith's suitcases from the curb to the car's trunk.

"I don't know, maybe 'I want to shut this jerk up and the only way to do that is punch him?'" Keith scoffed. Shiro shook his head.

"Keith, you sent him to the _hospital._ Why did you even to that? Your lucky they didn't send you to court!"

"He was being a jerk!" Keith started to raise his voice, then realized he was going to create a scene. So he instead tossed his last suitcase into the car and slammed the trunk hard.

Shiro muttered something along the lines of 'kids these days' before starting the engine. Handfuls of students observed them from the dorm windows. Keith was about to flip them all off as he drove away, but he didn't want to disappoint Shiro even more.

"How are things back home?" Keith asks, trying to break the silence.

"It's… good." His brother says. "Allura and I are still planning the wedding. Pidge and Hunk still come for Friday movie nights. Lance comes too, occasionally. Haven't seen him around lately."

"Do they know I got expelled?" Keith looks at his brother in a hopeful sort of way. He honestly didn't know if he wanted them to know if he got kicked out or not.

"Oh, they know. They were there when I got the call. Pidge has been waiting all weekend for you to come home so she can rub it in your face." Shiro smirked. Keith winced at the name of the little gremlin. Now he was _really_ dreading going back home.

"I'm still really disappointed in you Keith. I know you got a full ride so we really didn't lose any money, but that was one of the best schools in the state. You had an opportunity Keith, and you blew it. I don't want you to end up like me." Keith looked down at his lap. He knew this already. Shiro originally had a full ride to a prestigious football college, but lost his scholarship after a bad car accident. He ended up skipping college entirely and enlisted in the military but lost his arm and now has PTSD.

"I'm sending a college application form to Garrison by the way." Shiro added.

Keith nodded.

Then he registered what Shiro said.

"YOU'RE DOING WHAT!?" He shrieked. "GARRISON? ARE YOU JOKING?"

"No, I'm not joking. You have to go to college. And what's so bad about Garrison? It's a great school. It's on par with your current- sorry, old college, in most of it's departments. Especially sports."

"I don't want to go to Garrison! That's where Pidge, Hunk, and Lance go! Thats where the entire town goes!"

"And what's bad about that? Lance, Pidge, and Hunk are your friends. Why not go to Garrison?"

"Because people know me there! I went to college half a state over to re-invent myself!"

"Yeah, you sure did a great job with that." Shiro rolled his eyes. "Besides, nobody is going to care about you being a hothead in high school. Even if you still are one. You matured, or at least they did."

"Ugh!" Keith slumped down in his seat and tugged his hood over his head. He hated his hometown. Everyone was either super boring, or just super weird. He was known for having a short temper.

Almost two hours later, Shiro and Keith arrived at Shiro's Cape Cod style home. Allura was waiting at the fence.

"Keith! It's been so long. How have you been?" Allura smiled. She scooped him up in a hug, then released him and kissed Shiro, who turned bright red. "You've changed so much! You have bangs now?"

"Yeah, I didn't want my hair slicked back all the time. It looked greasy." Keith grinned. Of all the people in town, Allura was by far the nicest. He was glad she was going to become his sister-in-law one day.

"I'll show you to your room." Allura said, lifting two of Keith's suitcases in one arm.

"You don't have to take that Allura, I can handle it," Keith started.

"No no, it's fine. Tell Shiro to get the rest of your stuff!" Keith nodded and looked back at Shiro, who was in awe and admiring his strong fiance while blushing more than humanly possible. He snapped out of it once he notices Keith giving him a 'What the hell are you doing?' look and grabbed Keith's stuff.

"Keith!" Hunk wrapped himself around Keith in a suffocating hug.

"Get off me!" Keith laughed.

"We can't help it! After all, it's been so long since we last saw you. What has it been, five months? I can't take these long distance relationships!" Hunk fake cried. Keith laughed and followed Allura to his new room, where she then left the two boys with all of Keith's things.

It was a pretty small room, just big enough for the two of them to be in there. Most of the houses ran small in their town. Keith sat cross legged on the bed, while Hunk took up the majority of the room sitting in a swivel chair.

"Did you bring back anything from college?" Hunk asked excitedly.

"Why would you want stuff from a college you don't even go to?" Keith asked.

"I don't know I just wanted to ask, like maybe you had food from some really good restaurant or something you brought back that I could maybe try."

"Dude I lived off of instant ramen the entire year."

"That's certainly going to change." Shiro appeared in the doorway. "Pidge is here, and we are having a _proper_ dinner of spaghetti and meatballs. It's ready now."

The boys followed Shiro downstairs (Hunk almost trampling Keith at the mention of food), so find a tiny green gremlin swinging her feet at the table like a child.

"Hey Keith your back! How was your one year of college?" Pidge smirked.

"How was yours? Finally grew an inch or two?" Keith retorted. Pidge looked like she was going to throw something, but there was nothing to throw except the bowls of food. And Allura specifically stated that there will be no food fights in the new house.

"Where Lance?" Keith asked. He was sure he'd be here, being a wise-ass to Keith about being kicked out, but the boy was nowhere to be seen.

"I don't know, he's been acting weird lately." Hunk said as he sat down at the table. All of the chairs were filled except one: probably Lance's.

"I tried to get him to come but he couldn't." Pidge said softly, as if she didn't want to be heard.

"Why couldn't he?" Keith whipped his head towards Pidge.

"What? Why couldn't who what? I didn't say anything. I said that the spaghetti and meatballs are good." Pidge said franticly. It was obvious she was lying, but nobody but Keith heard what she originally said, so nobody cared to ask.

"So, will you join the soccer team at Garrison?" Shiro asked. Keith grimaced at the mention of Garrison. Keith constantly trained and did a bit of soccer for high school, but even though his former school gave him a soccer scholarship, he wasn't so sure he was cut out for it. It involved a lot of teamwork and foot skill, and Keith was more suited for solitary sports using upper body strength.

"No… I might join a sports club though. Not a team" He replied, poking at his meatball. Shiro could get by with his cooking skills, but Keith still preferred Hunk's cuisine. Allura perked up at the mention of sports though.

"Oh oh! Join the swim club! I used to swim for Garrison. They had a lovely pool. If you don't want to do the team there's always a club to accompany it. The swim club basically just used the pool for noncompetitive stuff." Allura's eyes were shining. "Isn't Lance on the team? Or is he swimming for the club?" Pidge started to feel uncomfortable.

"Neither. He quit a couple months ago." Hunk said. This caught Keith's attention. Lance lived to swim. When Keith came back for winter break, all Lance would talk about was swim.

"Why'd he quit?" Keith asked.

"Don't know. I think it was too much for him. He was very focused on his studies, and I think he realized if he continued, he would snap." They all went back to eating, leaving Keith with so many questions.

The next morning, Keith walked over to main street to grab some coffee, when a group of girls stopped him on the street. He recognized some of them from school.

"Excuse me, but do I know you?" The tallest girl asked. Keith knew who she was, Lily Mays. She was a popular back in highschool. Keith was a little surprised she didn't recognize him. He didn't change that much, did he?

"I think we do. My name is Keith? Keith Kogane? Your Lily right? Yeah I'm pretty sure we went to highschool together." He tried to sound as nice as possible, incase they still thought of him as a hothead.

"Oh my gosh! You look so different!" A different girl spoke this time. The group surrounded him, looking at how much he had changed. Keith knew he got taller (even though he was still below average height), and he knew he was slimmer, but the girls made it seem like he went from a zero to a straight ten.

Suddenly, one of the girls stopped talking and began nudging her friends and pointing across the street.

"Omg it's him…" The group was quiet, a whisper traveled through them.

Keith looked across the street to who they were talking about and nearly gasped. The person he saw was nothing like before.

He looked sickly.

He was bony.

He had matted hair.

He wore clothes that looked to big.

He used to be the very definition of beautiful.

He was Lance McClain.

End of Chapter One

Hello! Thank you for reading the first chapter of The Things You Hide! It may seem a little bland at first, but things will spice up later on, I promise! This chapter is fairly clean, but I make no promises for things that may occur in later chapters.

There are so many questions to be asked and answered. Why does Lance seem so out of character? Is Pidge hiding something?

In the next chapter, we have a mysterious taboo and some awful rumors, as Keith tries to improve his image and become a new person. But is it worth leaving some people behind?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Keith was in shock. When he was in town for winter break, Lance looked nothing like how he does now. Could five months really change someone that much?

"It's Lance." The girls gave the cuban a look of pity. "He's so handsome, but it's so sad considering what happened…"

"What happened?" Keith asked. Whatever had happened to Lance, he needed to know.

"You don't know? Oh that's terrible… I thought you guys were close… Well, you'll find out sooner or later. I just don't want it to be from us." Lily motioned for her friends to follow her and they all walked off.

Keith was in shock. Something happened to Lance, and he didn't know? He was filled with conflicting feelings. Sadness, anger, guilt, confusion.

The crosswalk light turned green, and Keith dashed across the road, heading towards Lance.

"Lance!" Keith yelled, but he didn't hear him. "Lance!" He was getting closer, but Lance somehow still couldn't hear him. He was ten feet away when something (or rather someone), small and green blocked his path.

"Pidge, what the hell?" Keith growled.

"You can't run up to Lance like that. You can't be yelling, and you definitely can't come up from behind." Pidge glared through her glasses at the mullet haired teen. She was in a defensive mood.

"Pidge, some girls were telling me that something happened to Lance. What happened. You're keeping secrets."

"Nothing happened."

"You're lying! Something happened, and you need to tell me!"

"I don't have to tell you anything until he says he's ready. Lance is like a brother to me, and you will listen to my rules when it comes to him. _Got it? I can't let him be hurt anymore."_ The look she was giving Keith could kill, if it weren't for Keith's confusion. He still had no idea what happened, or why Pidge was getting all defensive about.

Something caught Keith's attention. What did she mean by hurting Lance anymore? That implied someone hurt Lance.

"Pidge, did someone hurt Lance?"

Pidge didn't answer.

"Pidge."

The girl ignored Keith, and walked off in the opposite direction. Keith wanted to go after one of them to get some answers, but Lance was long gone, and he wouldn't get anywhere with Pidge.

But he knew one place he could go.

"Hola Keith! It has been so long! So handsome!"

"Hello Mrs. McClain!" Keith smiled at the large woman. Lance's mother pulled him in for a hug (it was then when Keith realized a big part of why he didn't want to come home: so much hugging).

"Please please, call me Rosa. Come in! Do you want something to eat? Something to drink?" Rosa ushered Keith into the kitchen, offering various ethnic foods that she had made. Lance's countless siblings and cousins ran throughout the house, some waving at Keith.

They held a nice conversation on how college had been (although he managed to skip the part about being kicked out). Some of the older kids who knew Keith from the countless times he crashed at Lance's came in to say hello and what not, but eventually Keith steered the conversation towards what he originally came here for.

"I wanted to ask you something, it's about Lance." Keith said, taking a seat at the kitchen table. He knew that if there was anyone who would spill, it was Lance's mother, but something was wrong. When he mentioned Lance, it seemed like the whole house froze.

"What about the boy?" She snapped, adding a few words in spanish that he had no idea the meaning of. Keith was starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Well, um… did something happen to him in the past couple of months? He seemed a little down."

"I'm sorry, but I haven't seen to the boy since Christmas." Since Christmas? This was the most surprising thing Keith had ever heard in his life. Lance was a total Mama's boy, he couldn't go a day without having some form of contact with his family. When Keith, Hunk, and Lance had gone on a week long camping trip, Lance was texting her every morning and night. The camp counselors threatened to take his phone away, but Lance faked cried and got to keep it.

Keith wanted to ask some more questions, but he got a vibe that said he wasn't welcome anymore.

"Oh, well I'm sorry for bothering you then. It was nice seeing you again!" He couldn't get out of there faster.

It had only been two days since Keith came back, and already things were to weird to handle.

Wait… now he had a new question. Where was Lance staying? Keith knew that he had a job at a nearby grocery store, but that wouldn't be enough to pay for any type of housing. The majority of people from Garrison College lived in town with family. They didn't have any dorms.

"Did you hand in your application forms?" Shiro asked while grilling some burgers.

"Yeah. Hey, by chance, do you know where Lance is living? I wanted to drop by and say hello." I ask, setting the table. Allura comes out with a bowl of salad and gives Shiro a kiss on the cheek before heading back in.

"Gross, PDA. Keep it in the bedroom." Keith groaned.

"That's not even close to what we do in the bedroom." Shiro chuckled, causing Keith to gag. "And no, I don't know where Lance is living. I know he moved out-"

"Do you know why he moved out?" Keith cut him off.

"Lance said he wanted some independence. A little odd, but he's maturing. So I guess it's only natural."

"But so suddenly? Like last time I was here he was so attached to his family. He was saying something about giving them the greatest gift ever for Christmas during Winter break. He wouldn't even go with us to the movies on opening night, because he wanted to be with his family."

"Sometimes things happen quickly." Shiro sighed, "Burgers are done."

Keith grumbled to himself and kept quiet during dinner. Theories jumbled inside his mind.

The only things that brought him back to earth was how bad the burgers were.

Keith lay awake on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He felt like a detective, trying to uncover whatever Pidge was hiding about Lance. He pulled out his phone, reviewing the conversation he had with Hunk an hour before through text message.

 **Keith: Lance has been acting weird lately, any idea why?**

 **Hunk: oh yeah i've noticed**

 **Hunk: idk why tho**

 **Keith: I've asked around and nobody is talking.**

 **Hunk: try Pidge?**

 **Keith: She won't talk.**

 **Hunk: let me try**

 **Hunk: no reply**

 **Keith: Did you know he moved out btw?**

 **Hunk: found that out a while ago, don't know where to tho**

 **Hunk: happened after Xmas i think, he got kicked out**

That was news was shocking. He never thought Rosa would kick Lance out.

"Keith! Allura! Please tell me you aren't still mad about the burgers, are you?" Shiro whined resting his chin on Allura's shoulder from behind. Allura turned her head so Shiro got a face full of white hair.

"It's been an entire day! And the burgers weren't that bad…"

"Burgers? You called them burgers? That was an abomination! It was charred beyond physically possible!" Allura scolded. "We are going to the bookstore right now and getting you a cookbook." The two had dragged Shiro all the way into town and were planning on buying an actual burger so show him what food really was, but Keith guessed they were getting a cookbook now.

As the couple browsed the cookbook section, Keith made his way over to the science fiction area, but stopped himself. Because standing there amidst the self help books, was Lance McClain.

Keith tried to be sneaky and 'accidentally' grab the same book as Lance at the same moment, but it was the rare event where things did not go as planned for Keith Kogane.

Simply putting it, instead of innocently catching his attention, he tripped and fell onto the bookcase. Luckily the bookcase was bolted to the floor, and only a couple books fell off.

"Well that was unfortunate." He joked, looking at Lance, only to find eyes filled with terror and a gaunt face.

Lance stumbled backwards, more than he should have, and fell on his butt. Keith held out his hand to help him up, but Lance looked mortified. Keith noticed his leg seemed injured, like it never fully healed from something.

"Sorry Lance, are you okay?" Keith asked. Lance stood shakily and nodded hastily.

"Im okay…" His voice was soft and shaking, like he was scared of Keith.

"How's it been man? I haven't seen you in a while." Keith noticed that Lance was still wearing his signature hoodie (with the hood up), even though it was summer.

"Repeat, please?" The blue eyed boy leaned in closer to hear, even though Keith was speaking normally.

"I asked you how have you been?"

"Oh… g-good…"

"That's great." There was an awkward silence between them, until Lance's phone beeped. When he pulled it out to see who texted, Keith was surprised to see Lance was using a flip phone. He was sure that he used to use an Iphone.

"I have to go…" Lance said, putting the book he was looking at away and scurrying out of there. Out of curiosity, Keith picked up Lance's book. It was titled _Coping._

"I don't think you should be talking to him." Someone placed a hand on Keith's shoulder. He recognized the boy from highschool, but couldn't put him finger on who exactly it was.

"I've heard he's the college's slut."

Keith's stomach churned. He knew Lance was a flirt, but he refused to believe that he was a slut.

He couldn't be.

Keith had some more free time while Allura taught Shiro how to cook. He was pretty sure Shiro was just pretending to be a bad chef for cute moments like that with his fiance, but Allura was not going to make it 'cute.' She was determined to make Shiro a better chef than she was.

Somehow, Keith ended up in a small grocery store with an armful of peanut butter cookies. Maybe this could help persuade Pidge into telling him what was going on with Lance.

"There he is Lotor!" Keith heard from the aisle next to him. There was snickering and things that Keith couldn't pick up, so he rounded to corner and saw four college kids. He recognized Lotor and his cronies as the star football players from high school, so no doubtedly they were playing for college. Keith pretended to be interested in tinfoil.

"Wait, that's the guy you…?" Guy 1.

"Yep. Wasn't worth it though." Lotor.

"I can't believe you didn't get caught." Guy 2.

"I have to admit, he is pretty hot. Or was." Guy 3.

"Yeah, he was way better looking before." Lotor.

It didn't take long for Keith to scope out who they were talking about: Lance. Keith was in the same grocery store that Lance worked in.

The four football players made their way over to the cash registers,inching closer towards Lance, who was oblivious for sometime. Once he did realize they were coming over, you could see the fear in Lance's eyes. He froze up, stared down, and gripped the counter.

Before the four could get online, Keith was in front of them with his cookies, putting them on Lance's conveyor belt.

"What's the total?" Keith asked, hoping to deter Lotor and catching Lance's attention. It worked. Lance's eyes snapped to Keith and widened, as he began scanning everything.

Lotor and his friends avoided Lance now that Keith was there giving menacing looks, but they still called out to them.

"Hey Lance McLame! Better lock your doors!" One of the guys hissed.

"Get lost you punks." Keith growled, glad they couldn't recognize him as the orphan boy they made fun of in high school.

Keith stared them down until they left. Lance kept his head down. He wasn't mentally there.

"Lance? Lance it's okay, they're gone." Keith said, trying to get in his line of sight. Their eye's connected, Keith's dark eyes widening in concern, Lance's blue ones glazed over and full of fear.

"I'm sorry… who are you?" The boy whispered. Keith was in shock. How did Lance not recognize him?

"It's me, Keith, your buddy?"

"Oh! K-keith… it's been a while…" Keith bagged his groceries and debated whether or not asking about his living situation. Lotor made it real concerning by saying "lock your doors." What is this, the purge?

Keith decided against asking. Lotor's presence clearly had shaken Lance.

"Hey, I don't know if they'll be back or not, so want me to wait until the end of your shift with you so they won't bother you?" He was going to add if he could walk him, so he could see where he lived, but he didn't want to come off as a creep.

Lance hesitated, then nodded slightly.

"Please?" He squeaked. Keith gave him a warm smile.

It wasn't much later when Lance's shift ended, and Pidge appeared at the register.

"Oh hey Keith. Lance, ready to go home?" Lance said he needed his coat and walked away.

"Are you guys living together?" Keith questioned. Pidge realized what she said and tried to find an excuse, to no avail.

"Don't tell _anyone._ It's important that this is kept quiet."

"What, you guys dating." Keith felt a tiny pang in his heart as the thought arose.

"What? No!" He could believe that. Pidge didn't seem like she was lying. "He just… can't live on his own."

"R-ready…" Lance was back, shrugging on his jacket. He and Pidge left, looking around to make sure nobody was going to follow them. Keith left a few minutes later and started to head home.

He was five minutes from his house when he heard snickering from the alley. It was two of Lotor's friends.

"Fucking idiots…" He growled, apparently not quiet enough, as the men heard him and turned to Keith.

"What do you want mullet?" He snarled back. "Oh, let me guess something about Lance McLame?"

"Don't call him that. And yes. Stop harassing him."

"Oh, and what are you going to do about it? He's just a little bitch that nobody will ever care abou-" That's when he punched him. Right in the mouth.

In the end, Keith was left with a bruise on one cheek and a scolding from Shiro, but he knew it was better than what he did to the other two.

Keith looked himself over in the mirror. Few people recognized him from high school, so he wanted to reinvent himself, perhaps become for more likeable, more dateable person.

Only Lance, Hunk, Pidge, Shiro, and Allura really accepted him in high school. When he came out as gay sophomore year, he was prepared to be teased or rejected, but they all were fine with it, and even dealt with anybody who tried to bully Keith. Lance especially. Any time someone said a negative comment about Keith, he would be on their ass immediately, making them take back what they said.

Keith had ditched his old crop top jacket (or whatever it was called) and was trying to be a little more fashionable.

"For what?" He sighed, shrugging off his shirt. He planned to go to the gay bar in the next town over, maybe hook up with someone, but he suddenly lost motivation. What if reinventing himself, meant leaving people behind?

In the back of Keith's mind, he knew he wanted to date someone. Not just anyone, but a specific person.

It's just that Keith didn't know who this specific person was.

For the next week, Keith showed up everyday Lance had a shift at the grocery store, and waited until Pidge picked him up at seven. Lotor showed up once, but took a good look at Keith and then left.

One day Keith showed up and didn't see Lance.

"Keith!" Pidge came jogging up the street. "I thought you'd be here. Lance isn't going to work today. He's, um, sick. He didn't want you to worry."

Keith felt a twinge in his stomach. He never felt that before.

"Can I see him? You know, wish him well or what not?"

"What, are you starting to like him now?" Pidge tried to joke, but something in her voice told him she was worried.

"Well, can I see him?" Keith didn't bother denying anything, he was too concerned. Lance got sick occasionally, but usually in the winter when it actually made sense to get sick, not during a bone dry week in the middle of the summer.

Pidge sighed.

"No, no you can't."

He couldn't take it anymore.

He snapped.

End of Chapter Two

This took too long and is way less interesting than I wanted it to be. I'm sorry! I should spend more time doing some quality writing…

Anyways, what's Keith going to do now that he's finally snapped? Is Lance really sick? How will Pidge react?

I'm excited to write the next chapter! We'll have a revelation that will take Keith by surprise (even though that's not the half of it)! And confusion on what feelings are what!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Pidge stared at Keith in disbelief. Keith was more angry than anyone she had ever seen.

"WHY? WHY CAN'T I SEE HIM? WHAT ARE YOU HIDING FROM ME!" Keith shouted.

"I'm not hiding anything!" Pidge's hands were trembling.

"YOU'RE LYING! YOU'RE LYING! TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED TO LANCE! TELL ME!" Keith was shaking. "HE'S NOT SICK, TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED. LET ME SEE HIM. YOU KEEP AVOIDING ANYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH HIM. PEOPLE ARE SAYING TERRIBLE THINGS ABOUT HIM AND YOU WON'T EVEN EXPLAIN THEM TO ME! HE'S MY FRIEND TOO! I DESERVE TO KNOW! WE ALL DESERVE TO KNOW PIDGE, BUT YOU JUST KEEP IT TO YOURSELF."

"JUST SHUT UP KEITH. YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ANYTHING! YOU'RE ONLY GOING TO HURT HIM MORE! HE DOESN'T WANT TO SEE YOU!" Pidge yelled back. "DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IT TO WALK AROUND TOWN FOR HOURS JUST TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE NOT BEING FOLLOWED, SO YOU CAN GET LANCE HOME SAFELY? OR HOW HARD IT IS TO MAKE SURE LANCE IS ACTUALLY EATING AND KEEPING IT DOWN AT LEAST ONE MEAL EVERY SINGLE DAY? HAVE YOU EVER LIVED WITH THE FEAR THAT ANY TIME YOU EVEN STEPPED AWAY FROM LANCE, EVEN FOR A MINUTE, THAT HE'LL TRY AND HURT HIMSELF? NO! YOU HAVEN'T! JUST STOP IT KEITH! I CAN'T LOSE HIM AGAIN!"

Keith's rage and anger quickly dissipated. Pidge was starting to cry. Tears streamed down the little girl's face. How could Keith stay mad?

"I can't lose him again…" She sobbed, leaning her forehead against the taller boy, and wrapping her arms around him. "Not again…"

It took a while for Keith to calm Pidge down, and by the time he did, they were at the town park. Pidge took a seat on one of the benches and motioned for Keith to sit as well.

"I'm sorry Keith… I really am."

"It's not your fault, I shouldn't have yelled at you in the first place." Keith sighed and leaned back.

Pidge looked back and forth between her hands and Keith.

"Keith, look. I'm going to tell you one thing about what happened to Lance. It's not even the whole of it. It's a fraction of it. But I guess you do deserve to know."

"Really?"

"Yes, but do NOT, under any circumstance, tell Lance that I told you anything."

"Okay. I won't."

Pidge took a deep breath.

"Lance was kicked out of his house because he's bisexual."

Silence ensued. Neither of them said anything. Keith was too shocked.

"He, he was?"

"Yeah. It happened on Christmas. That was the 'greatest gift ever' he was going on about for a week. He really thought that his family would be happy… but they weren't. I think it's because they're so religious."

"Oh my god…"

"Yeah. Look Keith, it's starting to get dark already, I should go home. Lance is going to worry."

Keith was quiet.

"When can I see him?"

"Maybe some other time. Goodnight Keith."

"Goodnight."

Oh my god.

Keith lay awake on his bed, studying the ceiling.

How could that have happened to Lance? To the goofy, sweet, annoying yet endearing boy he once knew? That's what changed him so drastically? That couldn't have been it.

There had to be more to the story.

Keith got up, paced the room, then lay back down. He couldn't sleep.

His gut felt twisted, there were butterflies in his stomach, his heart was beating too fast.

But why?

Was it the anxiety? Fear? Concern? He couldn't explain the feeling. Because you never know how to describe something when it's the first time.

Because this was his first experience with love.

He was up until morning, when he decided to go for a run. He grabbed the first running type clothes he saw and was out of there, down the street, around the block, over the next hill and the next one. Anything to clear his mind.

He eventually found himself at the edge of town. There were few houses, mainly small sort of trashy homes that had been randomly placed and connected by dirt roads.

His reflection stared back at him when he came across a lake.

Sleep deprived eyes filled with worry blinked, sending chill up his spine.

"Keith?"

It was barely a whisper, a voice so light it was almost lost in the breeze. But it reached him.

"Lance?"

Lance was surprised when Pidge came to him last night, tear streaked cheeks and red eyes, apologizing for telling Keith what happened on Christmas. Lance had assured her it was okay, he didn't mind that part anymore. It was the other things that kept him up.

He had stayed awake all night, jumping at every small noise, sinking deeper into the covers in the darkness. When the first rays of light peeked into his room, he forced himself to drag his body across the house and outside, and he sat on the porch.

It was peaceful, the first morning Lance wasn't scared to exit the house, the first time he lasted so long without panicking because Pidge wasn't there.

Ever since _then,_ Lance clung to her like a child, needing to be walked everywhere. He got better, slowly being able to get used to his work place enough that he could go the four hours unaccompanied, and about to walk down mainstreet with Pidge nearby, but not holding his hand like a baby.

Footsteps on the dirt scared him, and he wanted to go back in, but he saw who it was. Keith. He was looking at his reflection in the water, sweating buckets in the cool morning mist.

He worked up the courage to call out, but worried his voice was too small to be heard. But Keith heard.

"Lance?" Warm dark eyes gazed back at him, and for the first time in months, Lance felt warmth inside of him.

"Keith…" Lance shakily stood on his twig legs, staggering to the steps. "Wha-what are you doing here?"

"I went for a run. And yourself?"

"I live here… did Pidge tell you that to?"

"No. I mean tell me what? She told me something?" Keith's face made Lance smile.

"I-it's okay… she told me what she told you. She felt guilty." A look of relief fell across his face.

"No. She didn't tell me where you guys lived."

"Want to watch the sunrise with me?" Keith nodded, and they sat together on the steps.

The sun peeked over the trees, groggily getting up from it's slumber. It slowly climbed higher, until it was just enough to dimly light the forest.

What felt like hours to the two boys was only minutes. They both noticed various things about each other as the sun illuminated their faces.

Lance noticed that Keith's profile was quite attractive. He liked his defined jaw, and how his eyes went soft in the sunlight. He liked how fluffy his hair looked, even if it was slightly damp from morning mist and sweat. He noticed that the mullet actually suited Keith.

Keith noticed that Lance had a very sharp nose and chin. It made him look even more handsome than he already was. He noticed that Lance had been looking more and more tired, each time he saw him. He noticed that his hair was slightly messy, and it made him look cute. And he loved Lance's eyes as they gazed into the sky. They were no longer glazed over, but actually shining ever so slightly.

Wait a minute, was Keith starting to have feelings for Lance? No, impossible right?

No. It was entirely possible.

Movement from inside the house startled them both. Pidge must be up. Because it was such a small house, you could hear her shuffle from her room to Lance's, pause, then become frantic, searching all around the four rooms in the house. Then she bust the door open and saw the two of them, sitting, enjoying the sunrise.

"Oh thank god, there you are Lance." She breathed in relief and slumped down onto the porch. "Good morning Keith?"

"Good morning."

They didn't speak for another twenty minutes, and instead kept silent, looking at the sky, thinking of the things they were hiding.

Eventually the peace was disturbed by adult responsibilities. Although it was still early, Pidge had to get ready for work, Keith actually had to find a job, and Lance had to eat.

"Make sure he drinks enough water and that he eats everything on his plate. Don't feed him crap!" Pidge had told Keith before dashing off to work.

"What am I, taking care of a three year old?" Keith had scoffed. The thing was, a three year old would have been easier to take care of.

"Lance, you have to eat." The black haired teen tried to shove a forkful of omelet into Lance's mouth. And Keith thought this would be easy.

"I'm not hungry." Lance murmured. That was a lie. Lance was hungry, but didn't think he deserved to eat.

"I don't care you have to EAT." Keith huffed. His tone caused Lance to flinch, so Keith made mental note to never do that again. "Common, three bites. That's it."

"I can't." Lance said, louder than before. He folded his arms and curled up in a ball on the chair. That's when Keith noticed it.

The scars.

The bandages.

Lance's wrists were wrapped up so much it was hard to believe he didn't see it before. Several straight line scars peeked out from underneath. Lance saw what Keith was seeing and immediately started to hide them, but Keith grabbed one of his arms.

"Lance… What is this?" He growled. "What did you do to yourself?"

"I-it's nothing K-Keith!" Lance stumbled out of the chair, trying to break away from Keith's grip, but he was to weak to do so.

Keith held onto his bony arm like a lifeline, and was filled with guilt and anger.

"What caused you do too this."

"K-Keith…"

"Lance. What happened." Keith's eyes were filled with a killing intent. Lance fell to the floor and tried to back away.

"Keith y-you're scaring m-me." Keith finally noticed that Lance was on the verge of tears, with his eyes wide open in fear. He dropped his arm, and Lance immediately held his hands close to his chest. He looked so small to Keith, even though he was still taller. Keith was ashamed. He was trying to be a better person, yet here he was, hurting Lance, one of his closest friends.

"Sorry." They sat quietly.

Then, Lance surprisingly took up the fork and slowly ate a piece of egg, avoiding Keith's gaze.

"Keith."

"Yes?"

"One day I will tell you everything, but please… wait until I'm ready to do so."

It was the first time Lance's voice was so strong, not a hushed whisper like before.

"Okay Lance."

It easy enough to find a job for the summer. Around half of the students were from out of the area, so plenty of job opportunities opened up. Keith ended up getting a job at a cafe, where Hunk worked.

"Thanks for putting in a good word for me."

"No problem! What are friends for?" Hunk grinned. He was taking a break from cooking, as the cafe wasn't all to busy, and had sat down with Lance for a cup of coffee.

"Hunk, have I become a terrible person?" Keith blurted. Hunk gasped.

"How could you say something like that? You're a great person Keith."

"Yeah, but… I feel like I've become less approachable in the past couple of years."

"Thats nonsense. If anything, you've become a better person. Like fine wine, you get better with time." Hunk smiled, taking a long sip of coffee, then added quietly, "Maybe that's why he fell for you."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Okay." They made idle talk for a while, until Hunk's break was up.

"You start tomorrow Keith! We are seriously understaffed." Hunk waved, and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Hey Allura." Keith yawned, walking into the kitchen.

"Hello Keith! Shiro left for work already. Care for some breakfast? Or did you already eat?" Allura grinned.

"No thanks, already ate."

"By the way, next week Uncle Coran and Matt are coming to town. I was thinking we have a barbeque at the lake, and a little party."

"Sounds nice."

Allura sighed and motioned for Keith to sit down at the table.

"What's on your mind Keith? I can tell somethings been bothering you for a while." She asked softly.

"It's… nothing."

"You're lying. Don't you dare lie to me Keith."

"Okay okay… It's Lance. He's been off, and I don't know the whole reason why."

"Is that it?"

"Yeah."

"Keith."

"No… I, I…"

"What is it? Boy troubles?" She teased. Keith was silent for a bit.

"Yes."

Whoa. Allura was not expecting an answer. She didn't think he would actually admit it.

"With Lance?"

"... Yes. I feel weird sometimes when I see him, or talk about him. I don't know what it is though. Is it utter disgust?" The thought of hating Lance hurt Keith, but he didn't know what to call this feeling.

"Keith…" Allura said, "I think you like him."

Keith sat there in shock. He made no move to protest the accusation, because… it was true.

Keith liked Lance.

End of Chapter Three

That was actually really fun to write! I think I'm rushing things a bit too much, but I'm planning to make this thing five or six chapters. It was originally going to be longer, but by sports schedule is really starting to pick up (not to mention I have a butt load of honors work I'm procrastinating), so I don't think I'll be able to make it longer.

I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter will have the biggest surprise ever. NOTICE! IT WILL MENTION SOME SENSITIVE TOPICS (however, cannot be revealed due to the fact that it needs to be a surprise! But i think you already know what it is…).

What does the realization that Keith likes Lance mean for him? How is Keith going to do at his new job? To be answered next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

WARNING! MENTIONS OF SENSITIVE TOPICS IN THIS CHAPTER. WILL NOT GO INTO DETAIL.

Chapter Four

As soon as Pidge was done teaching robotics classes at the town's summer camp, she rushed home. She couldn't trust Lance alone for even two hours, seeing what happened yesterday.

She had come home from work, and found Lance lying on the bathroom floor, bleeding profusely from his wrists. It was hard to believe nobody came running when she screamed. It had taken her nearly an hour to stop the bleeding completely, which was way too long. Luckily the boy didn't die. Lance felt guilty for making her cry and worry, but Pidge told him to concentrate on staying alive.

She wanted to take the day off to care for Lance, but because he was missing a day of work, she had to go in. They were both working the minimum hours necessary to keep Pidge's house. After her father died, and her mother and brother, Matt, moved away, Pidge refused to sell the Holt house.

Pidge grimaced, remembering the bloody scene from yesterday. She forced herself to put on a brave face in order not to worry anyone, but she broke inside. She thought Lance was getting better, but he still refused to eat unless she was there to make him. And he was hurting himself again. He nearly killed himself.

"You better be okay Lance…" Pidge mumbled, pacing up the street. Suddenly, she was confronted by a group of tall men. She immediately recognized Lotor and hissed.

"Hello pipsqueak." He purred.

"You dipshit." She growled back. "You want to die asswipe?"

"Well that's no way for a lady to talk!"

"Who said I was a lady you fucking dick." She warmed up to hurl out insults, but what Lotor said next caused her blood to run cold.

"I'd take that back little missy, unless you want us to do what we did to Lance to you." Lotor's eyes were cold. Pidge gritted her teeth and forced herself to keep the harsh words inside.

"What do you want?" She said as she looked for an escape.

"We just want to know where Lance is hanging out nowadays. Have any idea?"

"Nope, none."

"Oh really?"

"Yep." Then, Pidge saw her escape route. "Gotta blast!"

She ducked down and broke through an opening, under a guy's legs, and took off running. They would surely catch up to her, they being football players and all, but at least she had a head start.

"You bitch!" Lotor yelled.

Several twists and turns later, Pidge lost them, and decided to hide out in the park.

"Thank goodness…" She whispered. She was shaken. She didn't think they'll threaten her like that…

Not wanting to go home alone anymore, Pidge texted Keith to come get her. About five minutes later, he showed up breathing heavily.

"Did you run here or something?" She laughed, swinging her legs off the bench. Keith had on jeans and a t-shirt, not exactly running attire.

"Well yeah, your text was a little concerning." He scoffed, gesturing to his phone that read: **Help Prince Lotion is here I'm in the park**

"Who's Prince Lotion anyways?"

"Oh, Lotor." Keith tensed up. "Can you take me home? I think he's still chasing me."

"Sure Pidge." They walked home and Pidge explained what happened, every now and then stopping to look out for Lotor, but made it home safe.

"See you Pidge, say hi to Lance for me."

"Okay! Thanks Keith."

Keith was gone in an instant, running around town, looking for the asshole who messed with Pidge, and Lance to. Finally, he saw Lotor and his friends in the park. Thank goodness he got there when he did.

"Hey Lotor! What the hell do you think you're doing, picking on Pidge?" He snarled, making his way over to them.

"Oh, the pipsqueak?" Lotor laughed. "Just wanted to know where Lance was. Any idea mullet?" Keith stomped over, ready to fight.

"Why do you want to know where he is?" He said, more of a demand than a question. "What did you guys do to him in the first place?"

"Oh, you don't know?" Lotor smirked. Keith wanted to wipe the smug grin off of his face so bad, but first he needed answers.

"You really want to know what we did to the cunt?"

That did it.

Keith's fist connected to Lotor's nose, sending him to the ground. There was no crunch when he hit him, but plenty of blood. Lotor's friends immediately set upon Keith. It was four to one, and no matter how skilled Keith was, he couldn't keep up. But he refused to fall.

Lotor staggered to his feet and shoved his men out of the way, pulling Keith up by the collar.

"You want to know what I did to him?" He spat. "I fucked him."

Silence.

Lotor punched Keith in the gut, before throwing him to the ground. Another of Lotor's friends ran up, waving his arms around, trying to get their attention.

"Guys! I know where Lance is!" Keith's heart fell, his stomach in knots. "He's at the lake house with that Pidgeon girl!"

They all left, but not before giving Keith the last word.

"I suggest you stay down mullet, unless you want to see your friend get fucked."

Pidge's phone suddenly went off as she was trying to get food into Lance, repeatedly buzzing. Annoyed, she went over to turn it off, but realize it was Keith.

"What's up K-"

"PIDGE GET LANCE AND GET OUT OF THERE! HE'S COMING FOR YOU GUYS!" Keith screamed into the phone.

"Lo-" she began, then turned away from Lance and started to whisper. " _Lotor? Impossible. Nobody knows where we live. You didn't tell him, did you?"_

"NO PIDGE BUT YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF THERE! ONE OF HIS FRIENDS SAW LANCE AND YOU AT THE HOUSE AND TOLD LOTOR WHILE WE WERE FIGHTING!"

"Wait, you're serious?"

"YOUR WASTING TIME! GET OUT OF THERE! GO TO MY HOUSE OR SOMETHING! SHIRO WILL LET YOU IN!"

"Okay!" She hung up and grabbed Lance's hand. "We have to leave, now."

"Wait, why?" He asked.

"No time to explain. We need to leave, NOW."

"Why?" Pidge could see she would get nowhere, unless she were to strike fear into Lance's heart.

"Lotor."

The mere mention of him got Lance to get up and grab his jacket and head to the door.

"Let's go out back and through the woods. We'll end up at Shiro's house if we keep going." Pidge said, earning a solemn nod from the cuban. They went into Lance room and out the small window, then sprinted into the woods, never looking back.

At some point, after many trips over rocks, and head smacks from branches, they found themselves on a familiar road.

"This is Shiro's road. His house is over there, with the flower bushes." Pidge guided Lance over to the house, and they scrambled to the door knocking hard as they could. Shiro opened it up and beamed, oblivious.

"Hey Pidge! Hey Lance! Havn't seen you in a while, how's it going?" He said. Pidge shoved past him, dragging Lance along.

"Sorry Space Dad, no time to talk. We need to hide." They dashed upstairs, and Pidge told Lance to stay in Keith's room, until Keith arrived. She stood by a window and watched.

Soon, Keith stumbled into the yard. His nose was bleeding, he had several cuts and bruises on his face and arms, and his shirt was starting to become soaked in blood.

As soon as Shiro and Allura saw him, they pulled him in and immediately started cleaning him up. At first he tried to escape their arms in order to find Lance, but once he showed his face, he relaxed and let himself be taken care of.

"Do not let anybody inside this house." He grimaced, as Allura stuck some band-aids on his face. Shrio had gotten him a fresh set of clothes and had him undress in the kitchen, earning a blush from both Keith and Lance. Pidge sat Lance down in the other room with the curtains closed as Keith got changed.

"Are you okay Keith?" Lance jumped up as he entered the room.

"I should be asking you that. Did you guys get out oka- OOF" Lance wrapped his arms around him in a bone crushing hug despite his lack of muscle. Keith awkwardly stood there, then slowly wrapped his arms around Lance in a much needed hug. His heart ached and stomach filled with butterflies.

"We're fine." He whispered.

"It looks like we're staying here for the night." Pidge laughed.

"I guess so." Although Keith had just took a beating, he couldn't have been happier.

It was night now. Pidge was sleeping with Allura in the master bedroom, and Shiro had taken the couch. He kept a gun nearby just in case Lotor came around (Keith was forced to explain what went down, although he purposely skipped a couple parts). He didn't plan on using it, it was just for show.

Lance had fallen asleep on the floor after he had taken a shower, so Keith lifted him onto the bed. He noticed that the pajamas he was borrowing hung from Lance's body as if it were a blanket, even though they were Keith sized. He admired his broad shoulders as he tucked the boy in.

Keith knew he was head over heels for Lance. His sleeping face warmed his heart. Soft locks of brown hair fell over his forehead, and Keith admired the small freckles dotting his cheeks against his dark skin.

"I love you Lance…" He said, barely a whisper.

 **BANG BANG BANG**

Lance jolted awake. Keith peeked out the door way, looking at the front door. Shiro was looking through the peephole, gun at his side.

"I think it's him." Shiro hissed. Keith gave him details of what Lotor looked like.

"Long white hair? Probably a messed up nose? Yellow eyes? Kind of weird ears?"

"Yep, definitely him. Should I ignore it?" Shiro as about to just leave the door locked and have everyone go back to sleep, but they knocked again, loud enough to wake the whole neighborhood.

Shiro told Keith to go back in the room and shut the door. He did, but pressed his ear to the wood to hear what was happening. Lance quietly crawled over, careful not to strain his wrists. Because the room was so small, he was practically on Keith's lap, but took little notice.

"Is it Lotor?" His voice cracked. Keith could do nothing but nod. Lance slumped, fear in his eyes, and shook. Impulsively, Keith pulled him fully onto his lap and embraced him. Lance realized the situation they were in and blushed fiercely, but Keith grabbed the blanket from the bed and draped it over them both, hiding their faces.

Lance was still tense in his arms, and the listened to what was happening down stairs.

It was a bit muffled, but they could get the main idea of what was going down.

Shiro asked them why they were here, and Lotor replied that they were looking for Lance and thought he'd be here. Shiro denied that anyone was home except for him and Allura. You could hear Lotor's persist, but they guessed Shiro showed off his gun and shut them up. The door slammed closed and Shiro's voice rang out.

"They're gone!"

Lance immediately relaxed. He was now holding onto Keith by the neck, his arms wrapped tightly around him as if his life depended on it.

"Lance…"

"Yeah?"

"What did Lotor do to you?"

There was nothing but silence. Lance's arms withdrew from Keith, leaving him hurt.

"You wouldn't want to be friends with me if you know." Keith's blood was boiling, but he calmed himself down and carefully thought of what he was going to say.

"Lance, I don't want to be friends with you in the first place." The blue in Lance's eye dulled as his heart shattered, but Keith continued. "I don't want to be your friend, I want to be more. Lance…"

Keith looked up, glossy dark eyes staring at what looked like an ocean in an iris, and bit his lip, then forced himself to choke it out.

"Lance… I love you. I have loved you since high school. That's why I went so far away. I thought that my feeling were bull shit, and I thought you would never see me in that way, so by going to school far away, I could change my mind about loving you, but I couldn't. I love you Lance. More than anything in the world. When I heard you were bisexual, I thought I had a chance, and when Lotor said all those horrible things, I wanted to hurt him so bad… I'm a terrible person Lance for putting this on you after everything you've went through… but I love you Lance."

A few tears dropped from his eyes, into his palms. Lance looked at the boy and his heart melted. He started to cry, serious streams of tears, but didn't allow himself to make a noise.

"Keith…" His voice started cracking, but he had to say it before he was rendered speechless. "I love you to Keith. Always have. I loved you from the day I met you, all those years ago in grade school. I didn't realize it until a couple months ago, when I came out. I love you Keith."

He lifted Keith's face to his and kissed him deeply, moving his hands from Keith's chin and pulling him in for a hug. Keith was shocked, but pushed back, causing them to fall on the floor.

They eventually had to break apart, panting and leaning their foreheads against one another. They stayed still for what seemed like hours, in each other's arms.

"Keith… do you already know what happened?" Lance whispered. Keith sighed.

"Lotor said it. I didn't want to believe him. I wanted to hear what happened from you." Lance nodded into Keith's head, and took a sniff of his hair.

"Lotor…" He began, struggling to complete the sentence. "Four months ago, when it got out that I was bisexual, Lotor and his friend broke into my house."

Keith's breath hitched.

"They raped me."

Pidge sat on the cold tile of the bathroom floor, tears welling up in her eyes. After the fiasco at the door, she found herself restless and had decided to go to the bathroom, but when she passes Keith's room, she heard it.

"They raped me."

The sentence pierced her heart. The memories of finding Lance amidst the broken window glass, bruised, bloody, and broken were brought back.

She couldn't bear it. Lance was like a brother to her, and seeing him broken, crying, unable to speak, tore her to pieces.

She remembered it so clearly.

 _Her phone rang at twelve at night. It was Lance. She immediately was concerned, as Lance was always asleep by ten._

" _Hello Lance?" All that came out were sobs from the other end. "Lance? What happened? Are you okay?"_

" _Pidge…" That's all he managed to get out before breaking down in tears._

" _I'm coming Lance." She hung up and started sprinting towards Lance's apartment block._

" _Lance!" The door was open, and inside was a horror scene. Glass, blood, and broken furniture everywhere. Lance was curled up in a ball on the floor, half naked, holding onto a larger shard of glass as if it were the last thing keeping him alive._

 _Pidge cautiously lay a blanket over his bottom half and tried to pry the glass from his hands._

" _Jesus Lance… what happened to you?" All he could do was sob into Pidge's lap._

 _But Pidge knew._

End of Chapter Four

I almost cried writing this. I feel so bad for Lance! If this hit close to home for any of you, I am so sorry.

Another major revelation by Lance! And yay! Keith and Lance got together (?).

I have no idea what I'm going to write for the next chapter, so… bye for now!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

A week had passed since the confession. Keith and Lance were a couple now, still working some things out, and Lance was slowly going back to his old happy-go-lucky self.

He had also told Allura, Shiro, and Hunk everything that had happened. Allura immediately demanded that they live with them, and that Lance quit his job to avoid further harassment and stress, saying that she and Shiro would take care of him. Lance protested at first, not wanting to be a burden, but eventually gave in when he saw they were not taking no for an answer. Besides, it's not like Pidge and Lance could go back to their house anyways.

They had all gone back to see what condition Pidge's house was in, but could hardly salvage anything.

Keith refused to let Lance in there, as did Shiro and Hunk, but Pidge was to in shock to say anything. Her home was trashed. Most of the mirrors and windows were broken, the table was flipped, chairs were either smashed or laying on their sides. Personal objects either tossed to the side or broken.

Pidge had cried into Allura's arms, but soon got over it when she saw her laptop was still intact.

Keith had stayed with Lance at the edge of the lake, skipping rocks across the water. He could tell Lance was already healing.

"Um, Keith, I think you should go on dishwash duty for a little bit." Hunk said, blocking the door. It was Keith's sixth day of working as a waiter.

"Why?" He asked, trying to push past him.

"No reason, just…" As he tried to think of an excuse, Keith saw the problem. Lotor. He almost boiled over in rage.

"Fine." Keith hissed. "But you tell me as soon as he leaves."

Hunk cheered to himself and told the current dishwasher to wait on tables.

Half an hour later, Keith was informed that Lotor had left, so he threw down his apron and stalked after him. Hunk tried to stop him, but knew is was useless. Keith was out for blood.

Luckily for Keith, Lotor was alone, but it was clear that Keith would have been able to take down any number or men to get revenge for his lover.

"Lotor…" He began to growl, but was pulled aside before he could reach him.

"Wha-Lance! What are you doing!?" Keith looked up. There was no fear in his eyes this time, although he was out in public.

"Keith, please. I don't want you to get in trouble." A pair of lanky arms wrapped themselves around Keith's waist.

"But Lance, he-" Lance shut him up with a kiss.

"Violence isn't the answer. Trust me." He breathed. Keith rester his chin on Lance's shoulder and nodded.

"Okay Lance."

"Who's ready to swim?" Pidge yelled, wearing floaties and ready to charge into the water. Shiro clucked his tongue.

"You know the rule. 30 minutes before swimming after you eat."

"Screw you Shiro." Pidge muttered and sat back down.

"Lance, you wanna swim?" Keith asked. He had tried to coax him into the water yesterday to no avail.

"No… I think I'll try some other time." He sat on the deck, hidden in the shade. Keith sighed and sat down next to his boyfriend.

"What's wrong?" He snuggled into Lance's side.

"Just… not ready." Keith looked him over and nodded. He wasn't going to force Lance into the water. When Lance was ready, they would walk into the world together.

Everything was going to be okay.

End of Story

That's it guys! The last chapter. I might revise this and post it on wattpad or archive of our own one day, but I hoped you enjoyed!

Thanks for staying with me and dealing with the ridiculously long time it took for me to update the last chapter.


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